Madhur Jaffrey's Baked Cod in Yogurt Sauce

I'm starting to feel discouraged. The forces of food politics, nutrition and food safety, and environmental responsibility are feeling insurmountable these days. First, I've spent far too much time lately parsing the various charts on fish, trying to find some overlap. The fish we eat can't have too much mercury, but it also has to be fished sustainably. The people worried about mercury have one chart, the people worried about overfishing and stock depletion have another chart, and I, the concerned consumer, am lost in the middle.

And then there's the debate about Bisphenol-A. We don't drink much out of plastic bottles, so we're okay on that front, but people, we probably go through 5 cans of tomatoes a week. (As for beans, this spurred me to place a long-awaited-and-dithered-about 4-pound order for dried beans with Rancho Gordo, which has me - dork that I am - quite excited.) A question that came to me in the night as I was wondering about how to circumvent the liners of tin cans was: if the leaching Bisphenol-A in those cans is potentially cancerous, but the lycopene in the canned tomatoes is so cancer-preventing, won't those two cancel each other out? Do I have a doctor/medical researcher in the audience? Anyone?

Because my alternative right now is to drive into the city to Buon Italia this weekend and buy 24 units of bottled tomatoes and store them in our closet, like paranoid schizophrenics. (Yes, I briefly contemplated buying 50 pounds of tomatoes this summer and processing/bottling them myself, but then decided that sort of lunacy can only go so far before it threatens to swallow me whole. I've got exactly 2 square feet of counter space, folks. So, no to that.)

Sigh.

Meanwhile, we're also trying to eat less meat and more vegetables. Our CSA hasn't started up yet and the Greenmarket is just barely green right now, with expensive baby lettuces the only springtime option at the moment. Our recent tax bill makes those kinds of purchases somewhat outside the realm of daily possibility, but the alternative - rotting, limp, and pallid produce at our local grocer - isn't much better. Then, of course, the moment I start to complain about this I want to punch myself squarely in the face, because food shortages are looming the world over, not to speak of general impoverishment and hunger, and am I really whingeing about the fact that we have abundant food that's not entirely up to my (picky, though I prefer to say exacting) standards at our disposal?

Sigh and double sigh.

I'm not quite sure how to tie this neatly into a quick report on a wonderful fish bake I made from Jill Santopietro's fantastic round-up of recipes with yogurt, except that it was while trying to figure out what to substitute for Madhur Jaffrey's haddock (according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, it's to be avoided, though hook-and-line caught haddock is okay) that I really started getting frustrated. Cod is a good substitute for haddock in terms of taste and texture, and it's low in mercury, but if it's wild-caught and/or from the Atlantic, then it's a bad choice in terms of sustainability. I tried to engage the fish guy at Whole Foods who mostly just looked bored, and ended up taking my chances with the cod they had on display.

This is a lovely, simple recipe - you fry up a few onions and then layer plump, white fillets of fish on top of them in a baking dish before topping the fish with a thick, creamy coat of spiced yogurt that looks and feels as lush as cake frosting. A pass in the oven renders the fish incredibly moist and tender, while the yogurt topping subtly infuses the fish with exotic warmth. If you're afraid of cooking fish, this is the dish for you. If you're afraid of cooking Indian food, this is the dish for you. If you're afraid of spending more then 15 minutes on prep work for dinner, this is the dish for you. The original recipe has you pour off and reduce the watery liquid exuded from the fish after baking and then enrich that sauce with butter, but I skipped that step, simply pouring off the watery juices and serving the yogurt-topped fish with rice and some steamed broccoli.

Ben and my mother, visiting from Europe, couldn't stop telling me how good it was and I'd have to agree. It was a wholesome, hearty meal that at least temporarily assuaged my anxiety about feeding myself and the ones I love safely and well. Don't worry if you don't have Greek yogurt at your disposal - just use regular whole-milk yogurt that you first drain in a thin-meshed sieve for an hour or so. (Oh, and if you're wondering, the fish, despite being delicious, was also absolutely hideous to photograph. I tried, I really did, but posting the results of that particular photo shoot would have done more harm than good, I think.)

Cod Baked in a Yogurt Sauce
Serves 4 to 6

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, cut into 1/8-inch slices
2 pounds thick fillets cod
2 cups Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and coarsely ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons ground coriander
¼ teaspoon garam masala
¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3 tablespoons unsalted cold butter, cubed (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. When hot, add the onions and cook over medium until translucent, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a baking dish just large enough to hold the fish in a single layer. Cut the fish fillets crosswise into 2-by-3-inch pieces and lay them over the onions.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice, sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, cumin, coriander, garam masala, cayenne and ginger. Whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Pour sauce over the fish, tucking some under each piece. Cover with foil and bake until the fish is just cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes.

3. Pour the liquid from the baking dish into a small saucepan; keep fish warm. (The sauce will look separated.) If you'd like to make an extra sauce, bring the sauce to a boil and reduce it by half. Remove from heat. Whisk in the butter, a few cubes at a time. Season to taste with salt and pepper and pour over the fish.

Comments

[Heather]

Hey ho, I sure do agree with the hither-thither-dither what to eat in fish land situation, not to mention the can thing - all this time I blabbed to friends about their water bottles but the NYT article was the first I'd heard of canned goods. Lordy! Thanks for the great looking recipe though!

[Adrienne]

I sympathize 100% with your fish dilemma. I've been avoiding the issue by eating mostly vegetables, but I'm starting to think it's time to ponder my options. Also, my first Rancho Gordo order arrived last week and I am SO excited! Can't wait to see what you make :)

[Julie]

You've completely summed up the way I feel all the time these days -- there's no choice that feels as if it doesn't have some negative consequence, in terms of health, how it effects the environment, the humane treatment of animals raised for food, or cost. Sometimes to the point that contemplating it all seems so overwhelming that I want to just stop thinking about it and make my decisions without regard for any of it.

And of course all of this pales in comparison when I contemplate horrific food shortages elsewhere in the world.

[Jessika]

My take on this - but then I have a chronic illness - is that death will happen sooner or later. Warning reports always hede for cancer and/or heart disease, usually both. Plastic will do it, fish are fished out (that I do take into consideration and I do avoid cod for instance since the waters here are fished out). But as to avoiding plastic etc., life is complicated enough. There's food and water shortages elsewhere in the world and here, in the industrialised world we die due to too much food. If you believe in divine intervention and cosmic justice perhaps this is it ;) ;). Seriously though, sooner or later, ou just have to settle with all those warning reports and settle with a way in which you are comfy eating and living. You might need to alter some habits as you go. The habits you need to alter will become obvious though. But noone can bear the entire weight of the issues of the planet on their shoulders. The is not to say we should neglect them either, making them omeone elses problem. But life is more than worrying all the same. Best to you!

[radish]

I've been battling the same concerns over and over as well - mind boggling isn't it? And yes, I cried a little writing a check to Uncle Sam this tax season - it was quite substantial, so tight budget for awhile. I'm lucky in that I happen to dislike fish that eats other fish (which I think it what has a high mercury content) and happen to love anything small like sardines, but it's still tricky - the overfishing part. As for Madhur Jaffrey - she's amazing, simply amazing. Have you been to Dawat, her Indian restaurant close to UES? It's a bit pricey (what with budgets and such) but totally worth the splurge if you are ever feeling like one.

[Molly]

Oh my friend, I'm feeling overwhelmed too. Sigh. But to avoid thinking any more about it, instead I'll just say this:

1. HOOOOOORAY for Rancho Gordo! I just restocked our pantry with marrow beans (my favorite for soups) and Good Mother Stallard beans (my favorite for cooking with onion and garlic and eating as is). You're going to fall madly in love.

2. I loved the sound of this fish recipe when I first saw it in the paper, and now, with your ringing endorsement, I am officially adding it to the "to make" pile. Sounds just amazing.

xo

[Victoria]

Luisa - yikes. I've never even heard of the book that won the IACP Cookbook of the Year Award this year, http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/cookbook/2007/fish-forever/, and I looked for it at my local B & N and couldn't find it, but it might answer some of our questions about fish, health, mercury,and sustainability. Re tomatoes, Bella Cucina produces these mighty fine tomatoes, http://www.bellacucina.com/product.asp?pid=272, and they used to have an outlet at the Market at Grand Central, but when I went there last week to snag some, the counter was gone. I don't know if they can be bought locally or if they have to be ordered, but they are perfect - although smooth, so if you want to make a chunky sauce, they won't work. What about the white liner in the Muir Glen cans? Is that okay? I definitely want to put up my own tomatoes next summer, but after I do, what do I put them in? Glass, I guess.

[Victoria]

Sorry, my book link above didn't work. Try this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076458779X/ref=amb_link_2144222_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0VPY8S4HR4CRH3D6G8X2&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_p=385933801&pf_rd_i=549728 In case that one doesn't work it's for Fish Forever: The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood.

[Honeybee]

So true, every word. I used to buy cod but no I can't because it's overfished. And I can't buy tuna because it'll most likely kill me and god forbid I give some to my pregnant sister! And here I sit, sipping water from a plastic bottle not knowing what harm I'm doing myself. I actually though I was good, drinking all that water. One thing is for sure, tough. Millions of people in this world wouldn't hesitate a second to drink that water and eat all that dangerous food just to save their lives. Kind of puts things in perspective.

[Sarah]

Recently I've become a "regular" at your blog. Your writing is so easy to connect to and find inspiration. In regards to this current post, food health and sustainability can really crimp the little stress connectors in your soul, but there are things to be grateful for in these critical times: we are more aware of what it is that we depend on. Because we are in moments of crisis, big and small, we're starting to make choices that hurt now but help later. There is a food shortage all over the world, but in the end, because of the challenges, good changes will be made globally... especially if we start depending on our local farmers and distributors. These hard times are pulling us out of the quagmires of easy and selfish existence. We just have to remember that doing our best and being aware is making a big difference. Changes are happening that will make our good decisions become easier and more fruitful for all. Thanks for writing about these things.

[Anne]

Have you been to Wild Edibles? They give very good info on each fish as far as mercury and sustainability go.

I'm kinda in Jessika's camp. There's always something in our food or packaging that's cancerous or life threatening. Just found out my baby's bottles have bad plastic. What to do now? The "good" plastic bottles cost an upwards of $30 each. Way too expensive.

But you know what? I had way worse thing given to me at his age, and I'm a very healthy adult. So I try to take it all with a grain of Kosher, additive-free salt. If there's one thing history proves over and over, it's that we humans are quite resilliant.

[Anne]

Oops. I meant resilient.

[Aimee]

I've been feeling this way also lately... you've done a nice job summing it up though.

[Bee]

Tomato suggestion...I'm no expert on canned or non-canned foods, but I remember seeing a product by Parmalat that might serve your needs. Pomi. They are tomatoes packaged in boxes, much like soy milk often is. I have not tried it, so I don't know if I'm leading you astray, but I know they aren't canned. If you use them, will you let me know what you think?

[Lynn D.]

Rice? You served the fish dish with rice? Here in Oregon we can get Pacific Cod at Costco, but they are out of rice! Grocery stores and Asian markets are also experiencing shortages of rice. Go figure.

[Luisa]

Radish - I haven't been but have always heard good things. I'm just never in that neighborhood...

Victoria - apparently all cans that aren't explicitly marked as being BPA-free have BPA in the liners.

Sarah - yes, I agree that we have to find the silver lining, it's crucial. And there is one, I'm sure.

Bee - I've used many Pomi boxes over the years and they're fine, more than fine, even. But they're just pureed tomatoes instead of whole plum or even diced tomatoes.

Lynn D. - ha, that's sort of tragicomic, isn't it?

[Connor]

I made the baked cod over the weeekend and it was really good. The cod was incredibly moist and flaky, and the spices in the yogurt were lovely. It's definitely a dish I'll make again. Thanks for the inspiration!

[michelle @ TNS]

i need (1) a madhur jaffrey cookbook and (2) more room to store bottled tomatoes, because they are the shit.

i greenmarket AND CSA AND grow some of my own produce, and i'm still pretty sure i can never win.

[ann]

You have a balcony right? Grow some vege! That'll help assuage some of your fears AND save you money. You'll be fighting greenhouse gases, eating less meat and it feels fantastic. I put some tomatoes, thyme and sage into pots on Sunday and am waiting 'til this upcoming weekend to plant some peppers, basil and lettuces. And I'll I have is a wee fire escape! But it makes me so happy, I've been feeling all glowy ever since. As for the tomatoes, I use the bottled ones. They're just as delicious and sometimes the bottles are pretty enough to double as vases! Chin-up Luisa, we're not going to hell in a handbasket yet!

[fh]

What a lovely surprise. This has been one of my favorite recipes for cod (or haddock) for almost twenty years.

[amanda]

Well dag. I was so proud of myself for having ditched plastic drinking vessels long before the Bisphenol story was making headlines, but I managed to miss the canned food connection. Not long enough ago, I came to my own conclusions about canned beans and (mostly) stopped buying them -- a combination of the absurdity of shipping so much water back and forth across the country and the absurdity of carrying cans of water on my bicycle home from the grocery store when fairly fresh dry beans cook plenty fast if you set them to soak before you leave in the morning and fresh or not they weigh infinitely less in a backpack full of groceries.

Tomatoes, though? Phuey. I'm probably even worse off since lately I've been buying what they have at Sahadi's, which lately has been Pomi (umm, yeah. all the way from Italy. I should watch my food miles more closely.) which comes in a box that is probably eight kinds of plastic in one.

Mostly, though, I just wanted to say hello. It was great to meet you.

[Luisa]

Connor - so glad you liked it!

Ann - my balcony doesn't get enough sun for tomatoes, sadly. Herbs are fine, but veg need more than I can offer them.

Amanda - it was lovely to meet you, too!

[sh]

I just made this last night and it was delicious! I was surprised by how different the uncooked yogurt sauce tasted (tangy and spicy) and the reduced version which was equally yummy but had a sweet taste.
Do you have any recommendations for vegetables that would work well with this fish and perhaps make the plate look a little prettier?